Cavs, Spurs ease into 2-0 leads

On Monday night (Tuesday Manila time) in game two of the Eastern Conference playoffs Kyrie Irving become the second-highest playoff scorer in Cleveland Cavaliers history. "We take away some of these easy baskets we're giving up and these games might be a little different". That led George to declare, "In situations like that, I got to get the last shot". The defending champions are now up 2-0 in their best-of-seven first round series against the Indiana Pacers after a 117-111 home victory Monday night, and should move into the second round of the playoffs without a great deal of difficulty.

"He's got to learn to control himself", said George, who was critical of Miles for taking the final shot in Game 1. "We need Lance. He's a leader in the locker room and we feed off his energy".

Love also provided a spark on defense, sacrifcing his body to draw charges to give his team and the crowd a boost of energy.

"We believe", he said.

It might make the league seem a lot less competitive than it really is, but this year's NBA Finals will be a Cavs-Warriors matchup yet again. "At halftime, I was just looking at the guys and telling them 'Let's get a couple stops'".

With two-thirds of the trio covered, Kevin Love is the only one left.

Despite losing the opener, Pacers coach Nate McMillian insisted his team hadn't lost any confidence.

"That's to put together a four quarter game and I think we're right on the cusp of doing that". "I thought that was huge".

We're not sure which is better here - Myles Turner's explosive dunk or his father's reaction. They've been able to hang with the Cavaliers, but they just can't get over the hump. "First half we had 19 shots in the paint and had six free throws".

James finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

George is averaging 30.5 points, 7.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds in the first two games, similar to the numbers he had during a five-game winning streak that got the Pacers into the playoffs.

Paul George scored 32 and Jeff Teague 23 for IN, which showed more fight, but now has a steep hill to climb to get back IN the series. And reserve center Al Jefferson, a methodical 32-year-old low-post player, would likely be toast.

Iman Shumpert's play on the defensive end once could be considered at that level, but he's dropped off this season to the point where he was benched for the first six quarters of the series. Our trainer Steve (Spiro) said it's not a smart thing for him to try it, so we sat him out and he was kind of mad about it. And growth for him. If you like the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes, as it helps other listeners find the podcast And five-star reviews are much appreciated. We needed that energy from him.

However, the defending champions, following a pattern that began late in the regular season, almost gave away an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter as the Pacers cut the margin to four in the final minute before Cleveland closed out the game at the foul line.